MPs sharpen skills to fight corruption via engaging forum

Nov 12, 2016 News

Members of Parliament (MPs) were recently granted another opportunity to sharpen their skills when

House Speaker, Dr. Barton Scotland

it comes to stymieing corruption in all of its forms, particularly at the legislative level.
This platform was made possible through collaborative efforts between Guyana’s Parliament and the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) of the United Kingdom.
Attending the opening ceremony on Thursday at the Marriott Hotel were several members of the Diplomatic Corps, Chartered Accountant and Anti-corruption advocate, Anand Goolsarran, and representatives from the CPA.
The seminar sought to provide technical assistance and expertise to the subcommittees on a draft code of conduct; explore in depth, the principles behind the United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC) and its relevance to parliamentarians, as well as examine and build an understanding of the role of parliamentarians in scrutiny, oversight and legislation in relation to corruption.
The three-day forum, which started on Wednesday and concluded yesterday, also sought to promote knowledge exchange and discussion between the UK and Guyana on issues of corruption, standards in public office and parliamentary codes of conduct.
Delivering remarks during the opening ceremony were Sir Kevin Barron, Member of Parliament in the UK and House Speaker, Dr. Barton Scotland.
Dr. Scotland told the audience that the forum is a timely intervention in the fight against corruption. He stressed, however, that the fight must be a joint endeavour.
He noted in the same breath that the fight is an ongoing process and the forum will take Guyana one step further along the anti-corruption road.

A section of the audience at the forum.

The House Speaker noted that Parliamentarians stand to benefit significantly from information on accountability and transparency which was discussed at the seminar.
“There is still a great deal of work to be done to strengthen what is already here…It is therefore a good thing for this forum to be held, to further enable the Parliamentarians, and no doubt, the wider public to be aware of corruption, to recognize the signs of corruption and to feel bold enough to take steps to combat it,” Scotland said.
The Speaker said that on the road to anti-corruption, Guyana has chalked up a few noteworthy achievements. In this regard, he reminded that Guyana became a signatory to the Inter-American Convention against Corruption in March 2001. He said that a committee has been formed which has been tasked with overseeing the mechanism on the implementation of the Convention.
Dr. Scotland pointed out that the National Assembly has taken several measures to comply with this convention. He said that in 2003, the National Assembly passed Resolution Number 19 which saw the creation of four sectoral committees: Economic Services, Social Services, Natural Resources and Foreign Relations.
“These sectoral committees are tasked with the responsibility for the scrutiny of all areas of government’s policy and administration,” Dr. Scotland noted. He noted too that the Public Accounts Committee and the Integrity Commission Act are other measures that Guyana has implemented to address corruption in public office.
The anti-corruption seminar stemmed from a seven-month capacity building programme earlier this year between the United Kingdom Parliament and National Assembly of Guyana.

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